Crushing loss. The Pirates dug out of an early hole and looked to be on their way to a nice, much-needed victory, but arguably the most hated man in baseball changed all that.

Ryan Braun is a terrible person. Yes, he cheated, but this is what really makes him hate-able. And this. And this. Etc. Obviously the boos don’t bother him, but they are well-deserved. Watching a guy like that single-handedly beat your favorite team is a pretty awful feeling.

Unfortunately, he’s still really good at hitting baseballs. Braun hit a laser-beam homer off Tony Watson to cut the Pirates’ lead to one in the seventh, and then delivered the kill-shot with a huge two run bomb off Jason Grilli in the ninth.

That ruined what had shaped up as a really nice comeback for the Pirates after Wandy Rodriguez was awful again. I’m entering full panic mode on Wandy – he continues to get bombed and it’s looking like he’s just not the same pitcher after the injury that ended his season last year. He made it through just four innings and his ERA is up to 7.65. A foolish play (where Pedro Alvarez opted for a rundown–instead of a routine throw to first–during which Neil Walker whiffed on the tag) was to blame for a couple of runs, but the Brewers still hit him hard.

The bats woke up, though, which was wonderful to see. It was especially nice to see Ike Davis make a very good Pirates debut – two line drive hits to the opposite field and a walk. A five run fourth, keyed by big hits from Clint Barmes and PH Travis Snider, gave the Bucs the lead, but they weren’t able to hang on to it.

It’s hard to get on Morris and Watson for allowing a run apiece, but Grilli’s crucial pitch to Braun was just horrible. He hadn’t pitched in a while and it was a tough assignment to get the one-run save against the top of the order, but it is very clear at this point that the dominant Grilli is gone now. He’s probably about an average closer now. The pitching – bullpen and starter – let the Bucs down in this one, and both need to improve for the team to get back on track.